Saturday, August 31, 2013

I am often asked for help making thank you cards for men. I love making rustic, vintage style cards but sometimes customers ask for quick, clean and simple cards because they want to make them in a hurry.

Here is a card that meets that brief:

Stamped on Whisper White with a Midnight Muse back board. I stamped the ship from The Open Sea in Staz On Jet Black ink to make the image more stark than the surrounding colours. The compass and anchor are stamped in Cherry Cobbler. The world map and bill of lading are stamped in Crumb Cake ink.

The square smudge image behind the ship is stamped using a clear acrylic block with Midnight Muse ink. I wanted the image to seem like a bromide photo negative.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

I love it when Stampin' Up! release co-ordinating products and this Annual Catalogue has so many to choose from.

Everyone knows that I am not a huge fan of pink but there are times when I simply put myself out there and sacrifice myself for my customers lol!

This is a card that I made for a small class:

Melon Mambo is the base card and I chose it to match the gingham print in the Gingham Garden DSP (a strip of which is on the bottom of this card).

I inked the ﻿Wildflower Meadow stamp with Pink Pirouette and Melon Mambo ~ because I wanted to include two colours on the stamp I used Stampin Write Markers. I find that in order to get a sharp image it is important to huff on the stamp before you stamp. The moisture in your breath ensures that the ink is uniformally damp and that means that you get consistent colour.

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You should be able to see the embossing on the card around the stamped image﻿. This has been done using the Wildflower Meadow Embossing Folder which "pops" the images beautifully.

I could not resist adding some Gingham Garden Washi Tape as a contrasting focal point beside the greeting to balance the card design.

The greeting was stamped in Melon Mambo on Whisper White and mounted on Daffodil Delight to add a contrast to all that pink!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The chevron stamp from the Oh Hello stamp set is brilliant to use with Umbrae Inking.

Umbrae is a term borrowed from astronomy which basically means from shadow to light. It is usually used to describe the light and reflection on the moon or a planet.

So when you apply the term to stamping you refer to the graduation of a colour from a darker tone to the lighter tone. It is very popular and a great background for cards, scrap book pages and off the page projects alike.

Here is a clean and simple card that I have made using the inking technique:

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Midnight Muse is the base card stock here. I mounted Whisper White on top which I stamped the chevron stamp on in Midnight Muse, Pacific Point and Marina Mist. The piece of ribbon running alongside the stamped image is Stitched Satin Midnight Muse ribbon.

I embossed the larger oval stamp from the Oh Hello stamp set in white on Midnight Muse and then cut the oval out with Oval Framelits. The greeting was stamped on Whisper White and punched using the Wide Oval Punch. I punched the same size in the Silver Glimmer card stock to add a bit of bling.

To balance the bling I positioned diamante rhinestones on the card in three spots.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

I have been falling in love with the beautiful chevron patterns that we have been seeing in crafting products of late.

Chevron designs are clean cut, distinctive, attractive and versatile.

Here is a different approach to using the chevron stamp from the Oh Hello stamp set which could be applied to scrap booking, off the page projects and of course cards (as I have done here):

This is stamped using the umbrae method of layering colours from dark to light or the opposite.﻿ The ink colours from darkest to lightest are Midnight Muse, Pacific Point, Marina Mist and Tempting Turquoise.

I used a Stampa-ma-jig to line up the chevron stamp which actually only has two zig-zags on it. I was nearly going cross-eyed by the end. . .

The greeting is stamped in Pacific Point from the Oh Hello set and I simply cut the card into a pennant shape to break it up from the background and marry it into the white spaces between the stamped images. A piece of white Bakers Twine adds a touch of texture.

The base card is Tempting Turquoise and the stamped card Whisper White.

Friday, August 23, 2013

My sister attended the North American Convention with me and because she had marking and reports to do in the lead up to our leaving she was really strapped for time so I put together a quick swap for her. She had to stick the last components together on the plane. . . a good thing that we had 24 hours of flying to our destination. . .

Here is the simple but hopefully effective card:

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Base card is Crumb Cake mounted with Whisper White. I have generation stamped the leaves in Old Olive, the flower stems were also stamped in the same colour. The little fill flowers are stamped in Daffodil Delight. These stamps are in the Summer Silhouettes set. I also stamped the grunge splatter in Crumb Cake ink ~ it is from the Gorgeous Grunge set.

I stamped the solid flower from Summer Silhouettes in Tempting Turquoise and the centres in Midnight Muse.

Finally I stamped the little scatter flowers from Summer Silhouette and the large solid flower from Secret Garden in Melon Mambo (I also took the flower centre stamp from Summer Silhouettes and stamped the centre of flower in Midnight Muse ink). The large flower was cut out using the Framelit Dies which match the Secret Garden stamp set.

I wanted to add some texture hence the Crumb Cake strip embossed using the Delicate Designs Embossing Folder. The greeting was punched out using the Large Oval Punch and the base the Scallop Oval Punch.

I snuck in some divine Washi Tape from the Gingham Garden Collection and the Epic Day This & That Collection to add further texture.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

I am loving the Soho Subway Designer Series Paper - it is grungy, graphic and gorgeous. I am yet to make a project that disappoints!

Here is one of my recent creations:

The base card is Summer Starfruit - I love this colour! The piece of DSP is mounted on a piece of Early Espresso Core 'dinations card stock which I have embossed using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder with the Big Shot.

The stamped background is in Baked Brown Sugar for the large splotches (which remind me of blood splatter at a crime scene), Early Espresso for the smaller splotches and Summer Starfruit for the skid marks. I adore the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set!

I stamped (the Baked Brown Sugar), embossed (with black embossing powder) and fussy cut the greeting and small arrows from the Hello Lovely stamp set. I mounted these with dimensionals to give the card some depth.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

What an amazing experience we had at the North American Convention - Stampin' Up! is the most awesome company in the world to work for!

It was breathtaking sharing this event with so many people - 6,000 in total. It was brilliant to spend the three days with so many new friends. I befriended a heap of girls from the US, Canada, Germany, Holland, United Kingdom, France and of course caught up with my galz from Australia and New Zealand.

Here is the second swap that I shared

I was looking to create something that was simple that could endure being in luggage for 4 weeks before Convention.

I used the Medallion stamp set and stamped in Staz On Jet Black ink on Whisper White base cardstock. The greeting is stamped in the same ink. Using the Windows Frames Framelit Dies I cut a mounting board in Basic Black and then mounted the final stamped image on top.

Finally I stamped the tree image from Serene Silhouettes in Staz On Jet Black. I punched a 1" circle out of a post-it note to make the moon. Sticking the punch out partially over the top of the tree I then used a dauber to swipe ink from right to left starting with So Saffron, changing to Tangerine Tango and finally a small amount of Midnight Muse. I blended the colours using the daubers so that the colours looked more like a sunset sky. Punching the image out with a 2 1/2" circle punch I stuck it straight on the black mount.

I mounted the Basic Black base with dimensionals so that it would sit a little above the card.

I wanted the whole card to have the connotations of a "sunburnt country". The swaps disappeared like ice in the sunshine so they must have been acceptable.

Friday, July 19, 2013

I have been so nervous about the swaps that I would make to share at the North American Convention because it seems to me that there are some very talented and therefore daunting demonstrators in the USA and Canada that I was over whelmed about what I could do.

So here is the first swap that I came up with to share at the BIG EVENT

This is very different from my usual style but I was thinking about suitcase space and weight and thought that I should challenge myself to do something a bit unusual (at least for me). And given that I am loving the Gorgeous Grunge set so much it seemed obvious that I should use it.

So the card is quite simply Whisper White mounted on Basic Black cardstock. I stamped the blotches stamp from Gorgeous Grunge in Tangerine Tango, the stipple splats in Gumball Green and the parallel scratches in Basic Gray.

The bright points of interest have been created with the Epic Day This and That Washi Tape and the Epic Day Daffodil Delight DSP (which I have simply torn).

The butterflies are both punched using the Elegant Butterfly Punch and Bitty Butterfly punches with the Epic Day DSP and the diamantes are of course our rhinestone jewels.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Another new set that has been making its impact on me. . . I am lovin' the Hello Lovely set. It has so many versatile stamps in it that can be used for a variety of projects. The images are both greetings and geometrical designs.

Here is today's creation:

Base card is Crumb Cake, mounted with a piece of the new Epic Day DSP. The pre-distressed look of the DSP really lends itself to many versatile projects. I also fussy cut another piece of the DSP (with the hexagon pattern) and mounted it on top of the DSP.

To ensure that the greeting popped. I cut a piece of the Calypso Coral with the Apothecary Accent Framelit Dies and then texturised it with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. This is mounted with dimensionals. The greeting is from the Hello Lovely set and stamped in Staz On Jet Black ink and fussy cut to the exact size. I added the Hung Up Cute Clip and knotted some Natural Trim to draw attention to the salutation on the busy card front.

Monday, July 15, 2013

One of my new favourite stamp sets in the new 2013-2014 Annual Catalogue is Gorgeous Grunge and I have been exploring a variety of applications for it. . .

Here is today's creation:

So simple and using some of the new designer series papers and washi tape - Epic Day.

The base card is Sahara Sand, the pre-distressed DSp is Epic Day and the Gorgeous Grunge stipple is stamped in Smokey Slate. The two strips of washi tape are from the Epic Day collection and the greeting is from the Hello Lovely set embossed in Pewter.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

The final day of South Pacific Convention was wonderful and whilst it was exciting it was a bit sad that the celebrations were coming to an end. I am one of the lucky ones who is going to have the opportunity to attend the North American Convention 18-20 July in Salt Lake City, Utah.

So the final pages of my "Be the Difference" Convention Smashbook:

Sophie and Olivia were so inspiring in their wow presentations on Day 3. I love how the colours of the projects all seem to go together tonally.

Julianna's bags were brilliant! And the number of MDS projects and products on display were just breathtaking.

Off the page projects were abound. So much inspiration in one location can be very powerful.

The final page of the book was the final image presented by the team from Home Office and Demonstrator Support South Pacific. These wonderful people pulled out all the stops to make sure that this year's event was the best yet. They have set the yardstick very high for future years and have helped create many memories and inspired the whole region to share what they love.

Hope you enjoyed the epic journey that was my Convention Smashbook!
Shanni x

Friday, July 12, 2013

I didn't focus on how long these posts would be so I hope that I haven't turned you off the project. I feel like a little kid doing morning talk at school and telling everyone about my favourite book and why every page has been marked with a post it note. . .

Here are a few more pages from my Epic Day This and That "Be the Difference" Convention Smashbook:

The After Party was Awesome and the photos tell the story ~ everyone had a brilliant time. The stickers are from the Epic Day This and That Sticker Pack.

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These are just some of the desserts on offer at the party. Amazing! Pity that I don't have a sweet tooth! Lots of people enjoyed the sugar overload though.﻿ And of course I am caught with my mouth open - singing! It was a song from Pitch Perfect and my daughters are just a little into that movie!!

More of our crazy chicks! a few self portraits but we couldn't all fit in the photo booth ALL the time!

Stampin' Up! handed out Grand Vacation 2014 stress balls although I am sure that some people collected more than one. . . Grand Vacation next year is a West Caribbean cruise. So exciting and such an appealing location.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

I enjoyed throwing this smashbook together - it was a labour of love and it all came together effortlessly.

Here are a few more pages which I hope you are enjoying:

Day 1 started with a dramatic performance from a team of four percussionists. It really set the tone ~ powerful, energetic, memorable and entertaining! Shelli also made a major announcement that Stampin' Up! is teaming up with Ronald McDonald House in the South Pacific - it was exciting to know that with every set of the nominated stamp set sold, Stampin' Up! will make a $3 contribution to this worthy cause.

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This year we had such a large group in attendance that I didn't get photos of absolutely everyone attending. But when I did capture shots it seemed that everyone was having a wonderful time and was sharing the joy of this amazing event.

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Of course it would not officially be Convention without a photo with Shelli! This year was no different. I also took the opportunity to gather as many of the Paper Belles together for a team photo.

Awards Night was held on a different night this year and it was a great success. As I mentioned a few posts ago I was third in Recruiting for Australia and the really terrific thing about the photo on the bottom right hand corner is that it includes three of the INKcredibles team members - Kim Gavarra (second from left and second in Australia) and Colleen Blakey who is third from the right - in fifth position!

Action shots are good (but I think that they look better when you get some warning that you are about to be photographed lol!). This is another of the titles that I received a third in Australia in - Leadership. Nice thing again was to share it with Kim and the amazing Kylie Bertucci.

I was also one of 41 Australians to earn the Grand Vacation to St Regis Park City in Utah in July. I was excited to share the award with a stamping sister from across the channel - Helen McEwen.

Hope that you are appreciating how easy this product is to use and that you will come back soon to see a few more pages. . .

Monday, July 8, 2013

The bag for Convention was da bomb! I was so delighted with the backpack which is so practical and although it is white and silver it is made of such durable material that I know that it will machine wash well. In fact I hope it does at it is accompanying me on my Tour USA at the moment lol!

So here are a few more pages from the South Pacific "Be the Difference" Convention Smashbook:

Continuing the Silver Anniversary theme I have used Basic Gray and Silver Glimmer cardstock on these pages.

I couldn't resist using one of the envelopes included in the Epic Day This and That journal kit on these pages as I had a number of cards that I wanted to include. Some of my team had gone to so much trouble to give me cards and well wishes. It warms the cockles of my heart and humbles me when I read these. I love the badge that Janine made for me with the initial "S" in it - chuffed!

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My roomie Amanda gave me some lovely gifts in the tradition of Stampin' Up! Convention sharing the love practices. . . Is tamped a crumb cake envelope with the Gorgeous Grunge blotches stamp in Crumb Cake and the stipple stamp in Bermuda Bay ink.

The swaps at Convention this year were of such a high standard that I had to feature a few of them in my smashbook. The one on the bottom right is from Debbie Yeomans who is an amazingly talented and inspiring lady whom I like to call my friend.

These pages are Daffodil Delight which is always a difficult colour to match but I think that the colour complements the two swaps here from the lovely Louise Sharp and Cherita Anderson. Stunning cards girls.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

I had a brilliant time at South Pacific Convention and wanted to document the good times in a manner which would be easy to share with our Paper Belles team and customers. . . and what better way than by making an Epic Day This and That Smashbook of the event?

Over the next few posts I am going to share some images of the smashbook pages with you in the hopes of inspiring you to perhaps consider this scrap booking method. I should say in advance that I smashed this book together in a fairly short time span given my desire to share the event with so many in my life. . .

I made a template of the hexagon shape that is already embossed on the front of the This and That journal. I then fussy cut the shape from the Epic Day DSP and daubed the edges with Bermuda Bay ink. Following a technique that both Shelli and Sophie used at Convention I added a few drops of Basic Gray re-inker to some white acrylic paint and roughly brushed it onto the whole cover.

I stamped directly onto the chipboard using the Gorgeous Grunge blotches, scratch marks and stipple in Basic Gray, Crumb Cake and Calypso Coral. I also stamped the diagonal lines stamp in Gumball Green to marry in with the DSP and the Epic Day This and That Washi Tape.

I printed a photo of the logo for the Convention on Whisper White Cardstock then sprayed it with Frost White shimmer paint (thinned with rubbing alcohol aka Stampin' Perfume). I then cut the photo out using the Apothecary Accent Framelit Dies and mounted it on a second piece cut out of Basic Black. The Antique Brads balance the whole grunge feel. I also added Calypso Coral Bakers Twine and added the dates of the Convention using the new This and That Rotary Stamp.

To marry in with the Silver Anniversary celebrations I big shotted the 25 years in Silver Glimmer Cardstock. Mounted the numbers on the base card from the Artisan Embellishment Kit and a Paper Doily . The pearls and ribbon and twine add a touch of luxe.

The pocket proved a great help. I added a few of the official travel and registration documents. The other embellishments include - Hung Up Cute Clips, Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Take a Ticket Stampin' Wheel (fussy cut) and I cut the top off the official Brisbane Convention Centre notepaper in the shape of a pennants to marry in with the whole theme of Convention. The badge was made for me by one of my friends (Tina Nash).

I got to share some of my excitement with one of my downlines, Michelle who was attending Managers/Leadership for the first time. We were both delighted to get special access to Momento Mall. The Epic Day This and That Washi Tape proved a great tool for this page along with the Epic Day This and That Stickers.

We always get spoiled by home office as leaders and this year was no exception. We received and amazing film reel tin dressed with new ribbon and stamped/embossed images (using stamp sets which are now available with the new cattie have been released). I have continued the theme of the silver anniversary and Epic Day DSP here with the stars and hexagons.

Here is a page covering the official documentation including the Agenda for the Convention, a recipt from Momento Mall and my name tag for the four days. The card on the right which is sooooo cute contains details of my official awards and benefits - I love the texture and continuity of the silver theme. And how nice is the greeting?

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The Managers Reception (another way of saying Divine Dinner) was of the usual high standard. I have used Epic Day DSP in the title (I love that pre-distressed look) and the Pool Party cardstock came up really well with a bit of Crystal Effects. The decorations, flower arrangements, table settings and string quartet were all beautiful.

I am not usually one to photograph food but could not resist these shots as the food was superb. The menu does not do the cuisine justice.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

The biggest announcement of the month is that Stampin' Up! has released its latest Annual Catalogue - it is absolutely overflowing with beautiful stamp sets, new in-colours, designer series papers and accessories. I am so excited about so many of the new items and want to share a heap with you.

First things first though. . . some of you would be aware that I earned the Stampin' Up! Grand Vacation to Park City St Regis Resort in July (and part of the reward is that I get to attend the North American Convention pre-vacation). Well in addition to that, I have travelled to the USA early to enjoy a long awaited holiday with my four gorgeous children and hubby. We have just left New York and are enjoying beautiful weather in Washington DC. Thank you Stampin' Up! for making this adventure a reality! Tomorrow is Independence Day and we are looking forward to a party!

So to check out all the amazing things in the new cattie I would suggest that you download the 2013-2014 Annual Catalogue to your own hard drive. And to make a purchase you are welcome to shop on line via my web site www.stampinshanni.stmpinup.net .

I should also mention that there are some terrific additional promotions this month. The "best of" stamp set for the month of July is the Best of Butterflies which has five lovely stamps including one never seen before for $25.95.

And there is an additional promotion this month with the Grab a Greeting promotion. You can purchase the Sassy Salutations, Petite Pairs and Sweet Essentials for 25% off the retail price. All sets are available in wood and clear mount and are a perfect bargain!

So with so much to absorb I will leave you for today and be back real soon with another post.

Any questions contact me, I will have access to email during the vacation.

Monday, June 17, 2013

I have shared a lot of my favourite swaps from the South Pacific Convention in Brisbane. I hope that you have gotten some inspiration from the amazingly talented and creative demonstrators who went to the trouble of swapping over the three days of Convention. I was really impressed with the standard of this year's swaps.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love Circle Circus and while this set is not that set it comes pretty close - Lacy & Lovely is an underutilised set; possibly because Circle Circus has been around for so long. . . Love this swap - nice colours and layout.

This photo does not do Cheryll Miller's swap justice. . . it is so nice and the darker parts of the chevron are actually fussy cut out and dimensionalised. Such a nice clean and simple design.

I love the simplicity of the colour combination and the clean embossed image of Summer Silhouettes thistle - perfect. Trish Myers did a great job with this swap.

Narelle Hodges made this lovely pink set which uses the Sent with Love set which is only available until this Saturday; so if you like it get in and buy it. The lovely cloud embossing gives it a childish feel and the pink colouring with the Baby Prints set means it can only be a girl baby card! Lovely!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

I wanted to share some more of the swaps that I received at Convention 2013. There were so many lovely ones this year but I wanted to feature some of my faves.

I love this whimsical card which would be great for any age group and so easy to do! Bug Me is such a cute set and this stamped image has obviously been stamped using Stampin' Write Markers. I am not sure who did it as it was received by one of my downlines.

This is the cutest little punch art card ﻿made by Pat Carr. Gorgeous how she has daubed the edges of the card stock with white to give the shape depth.

Gaye Schrader's swap has a fair bit of big shotting with the Labels Collection Framelit dies. Love the combination of Cherry Cobbler, First Edition Specialty DSP and Basic Black. You might be able to see that the card behind the butterfly is embossed with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. The butterfly from Papillion Potpourri is the perfect image.

Monday, June 10, 2013

There were so many amazing swaps this year at Brisbane for the Stampin' Up! South Pacific Convention - it was wonderful to see the effort that people went to. . .

Here are a few of my favourites.

Emboss resist is always stunning but the simplicity of this tag is just lovely!

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The Open Sea is such a gorgeous set and I love this combination of colours - Old Olive, Midnight Muse and Cherry Cobbler!

This card is colourful but at the same time quite simple in its design - the Secret Garden stamp set and Framelit Dies have been used to advantage here ~ and it is nice to see that this demonstrator loves her Crystal Effects as much as me!

In some instances I have lost the Demonstrator details off the rear of the cards so apologies if I am posting your card without your details.

I'm an Independent Demonstrator with

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The contents of Stamping Shanni blogspot are the sole responsibility of Shannean Moncrieff, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. The content, images, services, classes, workshops, clubs, products and other information contained herein are not endorsed by, binding upon or in any way meant to represent Stampin' Up!. Copyright in all images and designs is owned by and vests in Stampin' Up! 1990-to date. Please do not copy or plagiarise content without express written permission of the blog owner, Shannean Moncrieff.